U.S. patent number 5,248,297 [Application Number 07/910,499] was granted by the patent office on 1993-09-28 for suction tube for use in surgical operation.
Invention is credited to Haruo Takase.
United States Patent |
5,248,297 |
Takase |
September 28, 1993 |
Suction tube for use in surgical operation
Abstract
A surgical suction tube has a relief path formed between a
suction tube body for sucking subcutaneous tissues through a
suction mouth and a fluid supply tube for supplying a fluid such as
Ringer's solution around the suction mouth. Since the fluid sent
through the fluid supply tube is permitted to flow into the suction
tube body through the relief path, it is in no way blocked even
when the fluid supply tube is closed with subcutaneous tissues, and
consequently the surgical operation can be continuously performed
without interruption.
Inventors: |
Takase; Haruo (20-16,
Shimoochiai 3-chome, Tokyo, JP) |
Family
ID: |
11962023 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/910,499 |
Filed: |
July 8, 1992 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Feb 27, 1992 [JP] |
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4-18093 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
604/22;
604/902 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M
1/7411 (20210501); A61M 1/85 (20210501); Y10S
604/902 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61M
1/00 (20060101); A61B 017/32 () |
Field of
Search: |
;604/35,43,45,19,22,902 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0331313 |
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Sep 1989 |
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EP |
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2447513 |
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Apr 1976 |
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DE |
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8709667 |
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Oct 1987 |
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DE |
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2454308 |
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Nov 1980 |
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FR |
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2-94554 |
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Jul 1990 |
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JP |
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Primary Examiner: Hirsch; Paul J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A surgical suction tube, comprising:
a suction tube body having a suction mouth opening defined by at
least one side edge portion having a cutting blade, said suction
mouth opening being directed in a direction substantially
perpendicular to the axial direction of said suction tube body;
a fluid supply tube defining a fluid supply passage attached to the
outside of said suction body and having, at its leading end, a
fluid outlet which is substantially aslant along a plane slanted
relative to the axial direction of said suction tube body so as to
be capable of supplying fluid toward and around said suction mount
of said suction tube body; and
portholes provided in said suction tube body and said fluid supply
tube, said portholes being connected to each other so as to define
a relief path allowing the fluid to at least partly flow from said
fluid supply passage to said suction tube body.
2. The surgical suction tube of claim 1, wherein said fluid supply
tube further has a finger hole therein capable of being closed by a
finger tip.
3. The surgical suction tube of claim 1, wherein said suction tube
body and said fluid supply tube are commonly supported at basal
ends thereof by a retaining member, said retaining member having a
finger hole therein communicating with said fluid supply passage
and capable of being closed by a finger tip.
4. The surgical suction tube of claim 1, wherein said suction mount
opening is substantially rectangular in shape, having long sides
extending in the axial direction of said suction tube body and
short sides at front and rear sides of said suction mouth, said at
least one side edge portion having said cutting blade comprising
said short side at the front side of said suction mouth and said
long sides.
5. The surgical suction tube of claim 1, wherein said portholes are
connected to each other by, and said relief path is defined by, an
eyelet member fitted into said portholes.
6. The surgical suction tube of claim 1, wherein said suction tube
body has a hemispherical end forward of said suction mouth opening,
said plane slanting substantially tangential to said hemispherical
end.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a suction tube for use in a surgical
operation such as plastic surgery for aspirating subcutaneous fat
or other tissues, and more particularly, to an improvement in and
concerning a surgical suction tube with which a surgical operation
for fat aspirating or other purposes can be performed readily and
safely and which is expected to reduce the period for healing an
operation wound.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Among the various types of surgical suction tubes used in a
surgical operation for aspirating subcutaneous fat or other
tissues, typical is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,013
issued on Jan. 28, 1992 to Haruo Takase, the inventor of this
invention. The surgical suction tube earlier proposed by the
inventor is now finding widespread acceptance for actual use in a
surgical operation. This conventional suction tube comprises a
suction tube body provided at its leading end portion with a
suction mouth, and a fluid supply tube for supplying a fluid such
as air and Ringer's solution around the suction mouth. The suction
mouth in the suction tube body opens in a direction different from
the axial direction of the suction tube body. The fluid supply tube
is attached to the outside of the suction tube body in parallel.
This suction tube has an advantage in that it can aspirate the
subcutaneous fat or the like in plastic surgery with notably high
efficiency in safety and enjoys higher operability in comparison
with other conventional suction tubes.
However, there is a possibility that such subcutaneous tissues
enter into the leading end outlet of the fluid supply tube, thereby
preventing the spouting of fluid such as Ringer's solution. As a
result, the efficiency of aspirating the subcutaneous fat or the
like is lowered. Therefore, in such a case, it is required to
discontinue performing the operation to clean the fluid supply tube
every time the fluid supply tube is blocked. Thus, the conventional
suction tube entailed a disadvantage such that the work of removing
the blockage tissues in the fluid supply tube takes much time and
labor and proves to be troublesome, whereby the surgical operation
is prolonged.
Furthermore, the conventional surgical suction tubes including the
aforenoted suction tube generally have a function of taking
subcutaneous fat or other tissues off by dint of only a sucking
force, but sufficient effect of aspirating such tissues could not
be obtained. Thus, a need has been felt for a suction tube capable
of easily sucking out the subcutaneous fat or other tissues with
high efficiency.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
This invention was made to eliminate the drawbacks suffered by the
conventional surgical suction tubes and aims at offering a surgical
suction tube capable of effectively sucking out tissues such as
subcutaneous fat and enabling a surgical operation such as plastic
surgery to be continuously performed without a break even when a
fluid supply tube is blocked with the tissues.
Another object of this invention is to provide a surgical suction
tube capable of freely cutting off subcutaneous tissues while
sucking out the tissues.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To attain the objects described above according to the present
invention there is provided a surgical suction tube comprising a
suction tube body having a suction mouth opening in a direction
different from the axial direction of the suction tube body, and a
fluid supply tube attached outside the suction tube body so as to
permit a fluid to be supplied toward around the suction mouth of
the suction tube body, which suction tube body and fluid supply
tube have portholes mutually joined to form a relief path between
the fluid supply tube and the suction tube body.
A fluid such as Ringer's solution which is supplied through the
fluid supplied tube is permitted to pass through the relief path
from the fluid supply tube to the suction tube body in performing a
surgical operation for aspirating subcutaneous fat, for example.
The great part of fluid supplied through the fluid supply tube is
discharged from the leading end outlet of the fluid supply tube
around the suction mouth formed in the suction tube body under
normal conditions. However, when the leading end outlet is blocked
with tissues or the like, the fluid sent through the fluid supply
tube flows into the suction tube body through the relief path. As a
result, the surgical operation can be continued without a
break.
By providing at least a part of the edge of the suction mouth with
cutting means, the subcutaneous tissues can be easily cut off by
moving the suction tube body in its lengthwise direction or
rotating the suction tube body from side to side while sucking out
the tissues.
Other and further objects of this invention will become obvious
upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be
described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various
advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the
art upon employment of the invention in practice.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the
detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying
drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are
not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the surgical
suction tube according to this invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the same;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same;
FIG. 4 is a sectional front view of the same; and
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the
present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The surgical suction tube according to this invention comprises, as
illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 as a first embodiment, a
cylindrical suction tube body 10 having a suction passage 11, and a
cylindrical fluid supply tube 20 having a fluid supply passage
21.
A head portion 12 at the leading end part of the suction tube body
10 is closed in the form of a hemisphere and has a suction mouth 13
which opens in a direction different from or substantially
perpendicular to the axial direction of the suction tube body 10.
Along the edge of the suction mouth 13, there is formed cutting
means 14.
In this embodiment, the suction mouth 13 in the suction tube body
10 is shaped substantially in a rectangle having long lengthwise
sides 14b and 14c and short circumferential sides 14a and 14d, as
illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the shape of the suction mouth 13
is not specifically limited, and any other desired shape such as a
circle, ellipse and triangle may be chosen.
Although the cutting blades serving as the cutting means 14 are
formed at the sides 14a, 14b and 14c, the rear side 14d is also
provided with a cutting blade as a matter of course.
The fluid supply tube 20 is smaller in diameter than the suction
tube body 10 and attached integrally onto the outer circumferential
surface of the suction tube body 10 by welding or by using an
adhesive agent. The fluid supply tube 20 opens at its leading end
to form a fluid outlet 22. The fluid outlet 22 is aslant as if cut
by a slant plane, preferably, tangential to the spherical surface
of the leading end of the head portion 12 of the suction tube body
10.
The suction tube body 10 and fluid supply tube 20 are supported at
their basal end by a retaining member 40.
In the circumferential side of the suction tube body 10, a porthole
16 is formed, and correspondingly, in the circumferential side of
the fluid supply tube 20 is formed a porthole 26. These portholes
16 and 26 are mutually joined to form a relief path 31. In
actuality, the relief path 31 is secured by fitting an eyelet
member 30 into the joined portholes 16 and 26.
The suction tube body 10 and fluid supply tube 20 are connected to
an aspirator (not shown) or any other apparatuses through
respective conduits 15 and 23.
In using the surgical suction tube described above for performing a
surgical operation, the head portion 12 of the suction tube body 10
is inserted under the skin of a patient through an incision in the
skin. The inner pressure of the suction tube body 10 is reduced by
driving the aspirator while supplying air or Ringer's solution
around the suction mouth 13 through the fluid supply tube 20, so
that subcutaneous tissues such as fat can be effectively sucked out
through the suction passage 11 and conduit 15. At the time of
sucking the subcutaneous tissues by dint of the sucking force
supplied inside the suction tube body 10, by moving or rotating the
suction tube inserted under the skin, the subcutaneous tissues can
be partially cut off by the cutting blades 14a-14c formed at the
edges of the suction mouth 13 and effectively removed through the
suction tube body 10. In this case, the suction tube may be moved
back and forth or rolled from side to side to cut off the
tissues.
The skin and subcutaneous tissues may possibly be injured by:
particularly the cutting blade 14a formed at the front edge of the
suction mouth 13 when the suction tube body 10 is drawn out
straight from the skin. However, by drawing out the suction tube
body 10 while lightly depressing the head portion 12 downward, the
skin and other tissues are not needlessly injured.
When fluid outlet 22 of fluid supply tube 20 is closed with the
tissues in the midst of performing the plastic surgery for
aspirating the subcutaneous tissues, fluid such as Ringer's
solution sent through the fluid supply passage 21 flows into the
suction passage 11 inside the suction tube body 10 through the
relief path 31, so that the tissues teared by suction can be
smoothly sent out through the suction passage 11 so that the
surgical operation can be performed without a break.
It is desired to make the relief path 31 sufficiently small so as
not to decrease the efficiency of suction produced when the fluid
supply tube 20 is not blocked. That is, the relief path 31 should
be so designed as to prevent the fluid sent through the fluid
supply passage 21 from flowing into the suction passage 11 through
the relief path 31 serving as a short-circuit path under normal
conditions. Otherwise, a safety valve, relief valve or the like may
be mounted in the relief path 31 so that the fluid such as Ringer's
solution is permitted to pass through the relief path 31 only when
the pressure inside the fluid supply tube 20 is raised.
Though the suction tube of the foregoing embodiment has the cutting
blade at the edge portions of the suction mouth 13, the cutting
blade is not absolutely necessary to this invention. Also, the
structure according to this invention can be applied to a surgical
suction tube using ultrasonic vibration.
FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the surgical suction tube
according to this invention, in which a finger hole 41 is formed in
the retaining member 40 so as to be closed with the finger tip of
an operator. The finger hole 41 communicates with the fluid supply
passage 21 of the tube 20. In this figure, the elements depicted by
like reference numerals with respect to those of the first
embodiment described above have analogous structures and functions
to those of the first embodiment and will not be described in
detail again.
When the finger hole 41 is closed by the finger tip, the air
supplied via the conduit means 23 entirely flows out from the fluid
outlet 22. Meanwhile, when the finger hole 41 is open, the air from
the conduit means 23 is released through the finger hole 41 in
greater or lesser amounts Thus, by opening and closing the finger
hole 41 with the finger tip, while performing a surgical operation
for aspirating tissues such as subcutaneous fat while supplying the
air around the leading end portion of the suction tube body 10, the
quantity of the supplied air can be appropriately controlled.
There are times when the subcutaneous tissues are aspirated only by
the suction force brought about within the suction tube body 10
without supplying any fluid such as air and a Ringer's solution. In
this case, the finger hole 41 may be operated with the finger tip
so as to permit the air to be introduced into the fluid supply
passage 21 and supplied around the leading end portion of the
suction tube body 10 with the attraction acted in the suction
passage 11. Thus, by suitably controlling the finger hole 41 with
the finger tip, the subcutaneous tissues can be effectively
aspirated. Moreover, when the suction mouth 13 or suction passage
11 is obstructed by fragments of subcutaneous tissue, the opening
and closing operations of the finger hole 41 are performed many
times to vary the suction force in the suction passage 11, thereby
imparting shocks to the obstacles of the subcutaneous tissues.
Consequently, in the meantime, the obstacles are removed.
When the fluid such as the Ringer's solution is supplied, the
finger hole 41 may be plugged with a stopper or bound fast with a
rubber band or the like.
As is readily understood from the above, since the suction tube
according to this invention has a suction mouth opening in a
direction perpendicular to the axial direction, the subcutaneous
tissues can be sucked out with high efficiency without needlessly
injuring blood vessels and nerve tissues. The suction tube of this
invention has further a cutting blade formed at a part of the edge
portion of the suction mouth, so that the subcutaneous tissues can
be effectively cut and readily removed by moving back and forth or
rotating from side to side the suction tube inserted under the
skin.
Furthermore, since the suction tube of this invention is provided
with a relief path between a suction tube body and fluid supply
tube, the fluid flowing through the fluid supply tube is not
blocked even when the fluid supply tube is closed with the tissues,
so that the surgical operation can be continuously performed
without a break. Besides, by providing the fluid supply tube with a
finger hole capable of closing with the finger tip of an operator,
air or other fluid to be supplied around the leading end portion of
the suction tube body can be easily and appropriately
controlled.
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its
application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is
capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out
in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology
or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description
and not of limitation.
* * * * *